Take a look at what KW did in between 2004 and 2005. He traded Lee and let Ordonez walk in free agency.

He used the savings to sign Dye, Pierzynski, Iguchi, Hermanson and Hernandez. He was also able to ink Garcia to an extension after trading for him in the middle of the 2004 season.

None of these were big-ticket free agent acquisitions. None of these moves made hearts go pitter-patter with excitement. But in combination, the team was completely transformed in one offseason.

And, yes, I know the Sox will not be winning the World Series in 2014. The 2013 Sox don't have nearly as many pieces in place as the 2004 Sox did.

I merely use this as an illustration of how a GM can quickly change the makeup of a roster without signing a big-ticket free agent, or embarking on some five-year rebuild. The Sox are not going to undertake a Cubs-style rebuilding, nor should they. Or, to use an example within the AL Central, I'm still waiting for that awesome Kansas City farm system to produce multiple playoff appearances at the big-league level.

I don't know why people think rebuilding through the draft and the minor-league system is a surefire solution. For every Tampa Bay and Washington, there's a Kansas City and a Pittsburgh. Those two organizations went through about four five-year plans. The Pirates might finally be starting to pull out of it, but the Royals still blow.

The Sox do need to do a better job of scouting, drafting and developing. That's obvious. But the bigger problem here is tying up too much money in just a handful of players. For years, the Sox have suffered from having a top-heavy roster. Now, the guys who are making the bucks have stopped producing, and this is what you get -- a team that's completely out of balance and stuck between a rock and a hard place in the short run.

The Kansas City/Pittsburgh example isn't a good one, IMO. Those teams either can't or won't spend much on major league payroll. So, they're trying to win through farm system only. The Sox aren't in that situation.

I agree that the Sox need to do a mix of both - better scouting/drafting/developing PLUS spending money on key veterans to fill out the roster and that could make themselves a contender.

The free agents that you mentioned above that KW acquired before the 2005 season was masterful. But the problem is that the Sox have come to rely almost solely on under the radar players and a "maybe we'll surprise everyone this year" approach to competing. Those kind of players definitely play a part in winning teams. But they can't be the cornerstone of our playoff efforts and this team will never be a consistent playoff contender if they just keep trying to catch lightning in a bottle.

Yes, and living causes death. That doesn't mean instead of walking on the sidewalk, I'm going to jump off a cliff.

Sale has the worst possible motion in the history of baseball, one that has never not lead to a severe injury in it's purest form. Only those with a borderline inverted W (Glavine, Smoltz, Drysdale, Pedro Martinez, Blylevin) survived it, some better than others. The key difference is they never let their elbow get above the level of their shoulder (which in the traditional and dangerous inverted W is what causes catastrophic injury). The only thing that could make it more dangerous for his arm is if he cut it off and threw that at home plate. That isn't hyperbole. Sale has a true inverted W. If he pitches his career with that and doesn't blow out his elbow, he'll be the first person in baseball history to do so.

I know everyone's going to run and look that up. Make sure your site differentiates between a true inverted W and borderline. The key difference is the location of the elbow in relation to the shoulder.

You forgot about Yu Darvish. It all looks so hopeless. I think baseball has to consider having mechanical pitchers on the mound. It's just too dangerous for humans.

That's an interesting piece. I don't know if I share the author's opinion that eliminating dangerous throwing methods is the most effective way, some guys might flat out lose their effectiveness. Yeah, it worked for Nolan Ryan. But that's NOLAN RYAN. I guess we'd have to actually see high end pitchers effectively make a switch on a large scale before we knew how effective it was.

It's been 5 seasons since the Sox made the playoffs and 5 years since they brought in Buddy Bell to fix their minor league system.

To think that this team is another 5 years away from being a legitimate contender might be pessimistic, but it's not "garbage".

The Sox can spend their way to a possible wild card or "tallest midget" AL Central title rather quickly if they chose to do so, but it would probably mean handing a lot of money to declining veterans. That's not "rebuilding".

Yes, that's one thing I have to agree with munch on, I can't see this team turning it around in a couple of years. Sure you can spend money on a mediocre team and turn it around, but this is a worse than mediocre team with horrible fundamentals throughout and very few pieces to rebuild around. This team doesn't just need a few good players, the entire system needs overhauled.

That said, I would still like them to acquire a few good players for next season and aspire for mediocrity in the short term while rebuilding with a five year plan.

__________________"Respect was invented to cover the empty place where love should be."

Why? Not me. Any fan with any semblance of baseball IQ knows this team needs to be greatly restructured , and that means hard decisions. I disagree, I think most Sox fans know these kinds of things need to be done for the betterment of the future. If you are sore because an aging Konerko is gone you don't know baseball or the Sox. Konerko is a 10/5 player so any trade would have to have his ok.

Why? Not me. Any fan with any semblance of baseball IQ knows this team needs to be greatly restructured , and that means hard decisions. I disagree, I think most Sox fans know these kinds of things need to be done for the betterment of the future. If you are sore because an aging Konerko is gone you don't know baseball or the Sox. Konerko is a 10/5 player so any trade would have to have his ok.

Based on your posted WSI join date, I believe you missed the mid-2000s peak usage of teal-colored typeface to designate sarcasm on WSI. I believe blandman was being sarcastic.

I also would trade Paulie. Then again, I've been trying to trade him on WSI since late 2003.

__________________The universe is the practical joke of the General at the expense of the Particular, quoth Frater Perdurabo, and laughed. The disciples nearest him wept, seeing the Universal Sorrow. Others laughed, seeing the Universal Joke. Others wept. Others laughed. Others wept because they couldn't see the Joke, and others laughed lest they should be thought not to see the Joke. But though FRATER laughed openly, he wept secretly; and really he neither laughed nor wept. Nor did he mean what he said.

I'd guess it because Konerko has already told the team that he won't accept a trade.

__________________

Quote:

Originally Posted by shoota

I'm not counting this homerun or his 3 RBI from today's game because of the game situation. I'm not counting his pinch hit solo homerun in a blowout win in Colorado. In my book, Crede has 2 less home runs than his statistics show, 4 less RBI, and one less walk (the one where he pinch hit for Uribe after coming in with a 3-0 count and taking one pitch).

I'd guess it because Konerko has already told the team that he won't accept a trade.

Probably, I'd have to assume this is going to be Paul's last season, probably doesn't want to uproot his family for a three month rental elsewhere, and really, whatever worthless prospect we'd fetch for him won't be worth not letting him retire as a member of the White Sox. I'd hate to have to see something as pathetic as this again: